Following a customer-only preview at Maranello on September 4, the Ferrari 430 Scuderia made its international debut on Tuesday at the Frankfurt Motor Show. And it was none other than Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher who introduced Ferrari’s latest technological masterpiece. In fact the 430 Scuderia makes a little bit more history - it's the first new car development programme which Schumacher has led since his retirement from the driving seat; the bonds are unbreakable and in his new role the German seven-times world champion will continue to make an impact at Maranello.

The new Ferrari 430 Scuderia is in part a stripped-out, road-going version of the 430 Challenge, joining the V8 line-up alongside the F430 coupé and the F430 Spider. However it is far more than just a lighter and faster F430, the 430 Scuderia amply demonstrates how Ferrari’s Formula 1 know-how is applied directly to its production cars. And, despite being road-legal, the Scuderia is very much a car with the race track at its heart.

This new model is a special series based on the F430, and is aimed specifically at Ferrari’s most passionate and sports-driving oriented clients. Development focused on light weight, minimum trimmings and innovative technology. The result is a car offering mind-numbing levels of extreme high-performance. Ferrari engineers have removed a huge 100kg from their already athletic F430 berlinetta, providing the 430 Scuderia with a dry weight of only 1250 kg. The F430’s naturally aspirated, aluminium alloy, 90-degree 4308 cc V8 has been tuned to 510 bhp at 8500 rpm, offering an extremely low weight-to-power ratio of just 2.45 kg per hp.

Superb performance both on and off the track is assured by a series of cutting-edge solutions. There is the latest software - F1 Superfast  - which reduces the gear change time to just 60 milliseconds (faster than the Enzo’s gear change time of 80 milliseconds, and close to a Formula 1 car at 50 milliseconds), and new traction control which, for the first time, combines the E-Diff electronic differential and the F1-Trac traction and stability control in a single integrated system. With each new sports car it creates Ferrari blurs the technology divide with F1 even further, the 430 Scuderia takes the envelope another step on from the new 599 GTB Fiorano, an extreme sports car which has been blowing minds with its dynamic abilities. 

On the outside the 430 Scuderia presents a newly designed front and at the rear a bigger aerodynamic splitter. From the front the bumper evolves the F1 look, including larger air vents on the sides with subtle fins. The rear of the car is characterised by twin exhaust pipes which extrude high-up in the bumper from separate aluminium nozzles, flanking the registration plate on either side. This has allowed Ferrari to harness the air kicked up inside the wheel arches, normally this creates 'lift' in a car, but by feeding it through the bodywork and out where the F430's exhaust pipes are normally positioned, additional drag is created. Funnelling airflow within the car is the norm on a purpose-built racing sports car, and so here the 430 Scuderia, eschews road car convention to take the racing route.

Other exterior details include carbon fibre wing mirrors and rear tail section. The 430 Scuderia is also available in a new range of colours including Rosso Mugello, a deep metallic red.
 

New 19-inch alloy wheels provide a clear glimpse of the uprated Brembo CCM Carbon Ceramic braking system, measuring a generous 380 mm in diameter at the front. The brake discs been uprated also. The new pattern alloy wheels are available in various finishes, including gold providing a neat retrospective to the legendary Ferrari F1 and P3 sports car racers of the 1960s.

Inside the cockpit is a showcase of technological materials, with acres of carbon fibre. The floor is uncovered aluminium with a fine tread plate pattern, whereas the carbon fibre bucket seats share the similar technical material which was recently applied to the one-off Ferrari P4/5 by Pininfarina. In true Ferrari style, the hand-stitched craftsmanship provides the functional and stripped-out interior with an inviting character. The controls and instruments are dominated by an optional carbon fibre steering wheel, housing not only the Mannetino switch and red engine start button, but also five LED indicator lights for the Superfast F1 transmission.

The 430 Scuderia expands Ferrari’s celebrated portfolio containing the greatest road-certified sports cars, representing the zenith of their latest achievements in vehicle dynamics, weight-saving, control and performance successfully tested on the international racing scene.

Ferrari CEO Luca di Montezemolo had the following to say about the 430 Scuderia: “I'm sure this car this car will be a good surprise for all of you. For sure it is a good surprise for us. Because since the white page of the project we wanted to really do an eight cylinder extreme car. Extreme 360 degrees. Extreme in terms of performance, extreme in terms of safety, handling, drivability, time of shifting, time of braking, weight, so everything. 360 degrees extreme. This is a car to enjoy on the track. This is a car which you can use mainly to do extreme performances, and you have to be careful. Particularly at the beginning don't push too much, you have to become familiar with this car because this car is able to run 1 lap, 2 laps, 100 laps in Fiorano in a timing better than the Enzo, and this gives you an idea of how extreme the car is.

"But this car is also something more. It is a car which we have asked Michael Schumacher to spark a new season of his professional life. This is the first example of how much Michael has worked with our technicians, with our test drivers, to develop the car. It is the result of many, many hours of testing on different circuits and a lot of meetings."

And according to Michael Schumacher the 430 Scuderia is 1 second faster around the Fiorano track than the Ferrari Enzo. Impressive stuff - and in the halls of Frankfurt the world's media certainly thought so, this car is undoubtedly the star of the show. The 430 Scuderia’s retail price is expected to be between £170-175.000 excluding taxes.